Fish Oil Health Benefits

Fish oil certainly contains one main benefit which is omega3 fatty acid. This is certainly the discovery of the century by scientists. And this single omega3 oil ingredient which exists only in fish oil brought a lot of health benefits to human.
Pregnant women, infants, patients with heart / brain diseases benefits greatly from the effects of fish oil.
Fishes that contains high levels of omega 3 fatty acids oil are ice cold water fish such as salmon, herring, sardines, anchovies and mackerel.
Fish oil health benefits are come from 3 components of the omega 3 fatty acids which are Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Builds up immune system
Regular intake of fish oil build up the immune system. Hence increasing your body resistance against common diseases such as cough and flus. Fish oil was given to human and injected in mice in a research. Results shown that mice with fish oil in their diet have stronger resistance than those than do not have.
Studies shown that taking fish oil reduces breast, colon and prostate cancers in elderly people.

Keeps the heart healthy
Another important health benefit of fish oil. Heart diseases are shown to be reduced when fish oil is implemented into their diet. Triglyceride level is reduced, when fish oil is absorbed, which is the cause for heart diseases.
However, by mixing a high saturated fat diet with omega 3 fish oil, the health benefits of fish oils are cancelled and become negligible.
High daily intake of omega 3 have shown to reduce high blood pressure in people and prevents blood vessels from hardening.

Anti Flammatory Properties
Anti flammatory properties exist in omega 3 in fish oil. Hence if you suffer from arthritis or other related diseases, eating fish oil brings great relief to your joints.
Asthma sufferers benefits from fish oil too. During asthma attacks, due to the anti flammatory functions of fish oils, there are reduced inflammation of the air pipes in the lungs.

Good for the brain
Regular consumptions have proved to reduce brain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. High dosage of omega3 reduces the neurotoxin that exist in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.
School children who are given omega 3 fish oil experience improved learning and focus when compared to children not given omega 3 supplements.
People with depression are given fish oil as part of their diet to cure depression and 'cheer' them up.
A research held in Germany shows that headaches and migraine reduced significantly when fish oil is added into the diet of the sufferers.

However, do not over consume fishes after reading this articles as there are other
Now you can proudly tell your friends that you know all about fish oil health benefits after reading thru this article

Anarkali frocks 2011

Heart attack and Stroke

Heart attack

Sudden interruption or insufficiency of the supply of blood to the heart, typically resulting from occlusion or obstruction of a coronary artery and often characterized by severe chest pain. Also called myocardial infarction.

What is a heart attack?
A heart attack (also known as a myocardial infarction) is the death of heartmuscle from the sudden blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot. Coronaryarteries are blood vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood and oxygen.Blockage of a coronary artery deprives the heart muscle of blood and oxygen,causing injury to the heart muscle. Injury to the heart muscle causes chest painand pressure. If blood flow is not restored within 20 to 40 minutes,irreversible death of the heart muscle will begin to occur. Muscle continues todie for 6-8 hours at which time the heart attack usually is "complete." The dead heart muscle is replaced by scar tissue.

What causes a heart attack?

Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a gradual process in which plaques (collections) ofcholesterol are deposited in the walls of arteries. Cholesterol plaques causehardening of the arterial walls and narrowing of the inner channel (lumen) ofthe artery. Arteries that are narrowed by atherosclerosis cannot deliver enoughblood to maintain normal function of the parts of the body they supply

Symptoms of a heart attack include pain and pressure in the chest, which often spread to the shoulder, arm, and neck or even jaw. Today, physicians tend to define heart attack in terms of muscle damage to the heart caused by oxygen deprivation.

Stroke


What is a stroke?
A stroke is the sudden death of brain cells due to a problem with the blood supply. When blood flow to the brain is impaired, oxygen and important nutrients cannot be delivered. The result is abnormal brain function. Blood flow to the brain can be disrupted by either a blockage or rupture of an artery to the brain. There are many causes for a stroke, as shown in the table and discussed below. A stroke is also referred to as a cerebrovascular accident or CVA.
Causes of Stroke

Blockage of artery

• Clogging of arteries within the brain (e.g. lacunar stroke)
• Hardening of the arteries leading to the brain (e.g. carotid artery occlusion)
• Embolism to the brain from the heart or an artery

Rupture of an artery (i.e. hemorrhage)

• Cerebral hemorrhage (bleeding within the brain substance)
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding between the brain and the inside of the skull)

What causes a stroke?
The blockage of an artery in the brain by a clot (thrombosis) is the most common cause of a stroke. The part of the brain that is supplied by the clotted blood vessel is then deprived of blood and oxygen. The cells of that part of the brain die as a result. Typically, a clot forms in a small blood vessel within the brain that has been previously narrowed due to the long-term, damaging effects of high blood pressure (hypertension) or diabetes. The resulting strokes are called lacunar strokes because they look like little lakes. In other situations, usually because of hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), a blood clot can obstruct a larger vessel going to the brain, such as the carotid artery in the neck.

Another type of stroke occurs when a blood clot or a piece of atherosclerotic plaque (cholesterol and calcium deposits on the wall of the inside of the heart or artery) breaks loose, travels through open arteries, and lodges in an artery of the brain. When this happens, the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the brain is blocked and a stroke occurs. This type of stroke is referred to as an embolic stroke. For example, a blood clot might originally form in the heart chamber as a result of an irregular heart rhythm, such as occurs in atrial fibrillation. Usually, these clots remain attached to the inner lining of the heart, but occasionally they can break off, travel through the blood stream, form a plug (embolism) in a brain artery, and cause a stroke. An embolism can also originate in a large artery (for example, the carotid artery, a major artery in the neck that supplies blood to the brain) and then travel downstream to clog a small artery within the brain.

Symptoms of a stroke depend on the area of the brain affected. The most common symptom is weakness or paralysis of one side of the body with partial or complete loss of voluntary movement or sensation in a leg or arm. There can be speech problems and weak face muscles, causing drooling. Numbness or tingling is very common. A stroke involving the base of the brain can affect balance, vision, swallowing, breathing and even unconsciousness.

Both of them are medical emergencies. In simple terms, heart attack is the sudden death of heart cells caused due to lack of oxygen supply to heart by a blockage and stroke is sudden death of brain cells due to lack of proper blood supply.

can beat high blood pressure...

 

Researchers at Barts and The London School of Medicine have discovered that drinking just 500ml of beetroot juice a day can significantly reduce blood pressure. The study, published online yesterday in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, could have major implications for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

Lead by Professor Amrita Ahluwalia of the William Harvey Research Institute at Barts and The London School of Medicine, and Professor Ben Benjamin of Peninsula Medical School, the research reveals that it is the ingestion of dietary nitrate contained within beetroot juice - and similarly in green, leafy vegetables - which results ultimately in decreased blood pressure. Previously the protective effects of vegetable-rich diets had been attributed to their antioxidant vitamin content.

Professor Ahluwalia and her team found that in healthy volunteers blood pressure was reduced within just 1 hour of ingesting beetroot juice, with a peak drop occurring 3-4 hours after ingestion. Some degree of reduction continued to be observed until up to 24 hours after ingestion. Researchers showed that the decrease in blood pressure was due to the chemical formation of nitrite from the dietary nitrate in the juice. The nitrate in the juice is converted in saliva, by bacteria on the tongue, into nitrite. This nitrite-containing saliva is swallowed, and in the acidic environment of the stomach is either converted into nitric oxide or re-enters the circulation as nitrite. The peak time of reduction in blood pressure correlated with the appearance and peak levels of nitrite in the circulation, an effect that was absent in a second group of volunteers who refrained from swallowing their saliva during, and for 3 hours following, beetroot ingestion.

More than 25 per cent of the world’s adult population are hypertensive, and it has been estimated that this figure will increase to 29 per cent by 2025. In addition, hypertension causes around 50 per cent of coronary heart disease, and approximately 75 per cent of strokes. In demonstrating that nitrate is likely to underlie the cardio-protective effect of a vegetable-rich diet, the research of Professor Ahluwalia and her colleagues highlights the potential of a natural, low cost approach for the treatment of cardiovascular disease – a condition that kills over 110,000 people in England every year.

Professor Ahluwalia said: " Our research suggests that drinking beetroot juice, or consuming other nitrate-rich vegetables, might be a simple way to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, and might also be an additional approach that one could take in the modern day battle against rising blood pressure’.